kernel's is OK if it hasn't been sitting in the bin for 2 weeks.. i'm still angry about buying one of their large 2-4-1 deals (like 20 frigging bucks) and when I got the popcorn home and finally tried it, one of the flavors I got was so stale i threw it right out

That same thing happened to me with Dale and Thomas - and they're a LOT more expensive than Kernels - it was a huge gift pack of their bags with a bunch of fancy candied flavors and they were all chewy, got stuck on my teeth - gross. Caramel corn should sort of 'pop' when you first crunch through the outer coating and then you should be able to feel your teeth glide through the little popcorn cloud. That's what I like.